Chip Heath's Blog, page 6

By now, you've probably heard of the Move Your Money movement. The core idea is that, if you're fed up with the behavior of the big banks that contributed to the economic crisis, then you should yank your checking & savings account out of Bank of America (or Wells Fargo, etc.) and into a local bank or credit union.

What impresses me about this movement is that its leaders have been able to channel anger into action. So often movement leaders are great at getting people riled up about problems ...

I should have known Seth Godin would have a good answer to my credit-card mystery:

So, I think it's stupid, but they're not stupid, they're just jerks.

The reason direct marketers do this is because in fact, the marginal profit from a new sign up is so insanely high ($300) that they can quite happily mail someone 200 times (that's once a week for four years) if it's likely to work.

And yes, it does. Consumers are dolts sometimes.

And we're good at rationalizing.

Another reader pointed out that...

The February issue of Fast Company — with Steve Nash on the cover — has an extended excerpt from Switch. The spread in the magazine looks beautiful, but if a FC magazine isn't handy, you can read it online.

Over the years, I have received approximately 200 direct mail solicitations to sign up for the American Airlines & Citibank credit card. (Guesstimate: 1 every 2-3 weeks for 10 years) Maybe you're on the "spray & pray" list, too.

For a long time, I was irritated by the wastefulness of this marketing, but recently I have come to appreciate the sheer mindless persistence of it. And now I'm curious: Is there, in fact, data that supports continued marketing to a customer who has rejected your...

When it comes to our diet, we often get advice to "eat healthier" or to "eat more fresh foods and less junk." But those recommendations are too fuzzy to be effective. For people to change, they've got to know exactly what's expected of them.

Enter Michael Pollan, whose Food Rules are clear and pragmatic:

#11 Avoid foods you see advertised on television.

#36 Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

#58 Do all your eating at a table.

For more rules and Pollan's explanations...

Jonah Lehrer has a great piece in the WSJ today about the limitations of willpower. Here's Lehrer:

"Willpower, like a bicep, can only exert itself so long before it gives out; it's an extremely limited mental resource.

Given its limitations, New Year's resolutions are exactly the wrong way to change our behavior. It makes no sense to try to quit smoking and lose weight at the same time, or to clean the apartment and give up wine in the same month. Instead, we should respect the feebleness of...

Yesterday, Parade magazine ran an adapted excerpt from Switch, with a particular focus on individual change. (It is resolutions season, after all.) Check it out.